Family Night

Who’s Your Daddy?

Emily Cavins — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:14:31 +0000

Praise God that we belong to the amazing family of God! We recently returned from a trip to Rome where we saw so many churches with relics and chapels dedicated to the Saints who are our brothers and sisters. There are so many who were martyred for the faith or great teachers or mystics. Some started orders that are still serving the church today. It was amazing to see the evidence of such a great family. Of course the highlight was the Papal Audience where we saw the Holy Father, the wonderful leader of the family of God on earth. It was an honor to have been in his presence. We were filled with gratitude for his leadership and fathering of such a big family! Take time to share with your family how important the larger family of God is. Pray for the Pope!

Easter Blessings!

Emily Cavins — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:42:21 +0000

One of the wonderful things about Easter is that there are so many opportunities for family activities. Family traditions are passed on, many of them based on your ethnic heritage like the painting of beautiful Ukrainian Easter Eggs or molding a lamb out of butter on the dinner table. Even observing some of the Jewish Passover rituals can enhance the time together as a family and can teach us more about customs that are related to our Catholic faith. In our family, we usually include a traditional Passover dish to our dinner table on Easter. Here is a recipe for charoset, a mixture of apples and nuts that represents the mud bricks the Hebrews had to make for Pharaoh when they were slaves in Egypt.

Of course the Easter basket is what most children hope to find on Easter morning, so we try to include something that focuses on the meaning of Easter as well as the candy. We can express our joy for the Resurrection of Christ with sweets and with our deepest devotion and thankfulness for the gift of new life God gave to all of us through the Resurrection of his son. Wishing you the most beautiful Easter as you celebrate with those you love!

No Nagging for Lent!

Emily Cavins — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:22:14 +0000

Something to try for Lent could be for each day, write something you appreciate about the other members of the family by writing with a dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror! How about “U R made in God’s image!” or “You are special because….” and change the phrase each day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Emily Cavins — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:38:42 +0000

Here’s a link to a fun, family-friendly comic strip written by Ellen Toole Austin, a dear friend of ours. There are lots of funny ones to scroll through. If you forgot to send a valentine today, you can send this link! http://greetingsfromgracieland.com/

May God give you and your family grace and peace!

Idea for a Cold Winter Evening!

Emily Cavins — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:20:54 +0000

Looking for something to do in the cold of February? How about a Bible Timeline Review meal? Last summer, we challenged our girls to recite to us all the periods of Bible history along with a character and a Bible story from that period. Then we topped off the day with a meal based on some food mentioned during that Bible period. It was a lot of fun and actually, after 12 courses we were pretty full!

If you’d like to give it a try, download a chart that lists each course. We took photos too! You can see them on the Catholic Family Night Facebook Page.

New Year’s Resolution!

Emily Cavins — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:03:31 +0000

January is a great opportunity to start a new tradition in your home with your little angels. Have you ever tried to have family devotions but didn’t have a good tool to use? We would like to invite you to try reading the bible together.

Catholic Family Night provides you the opportunity for you and your family to read and discuss the Sunday gospel reading together. It’s easy, uplifting and it will keep your family on track with the liturgical year. This is a great way for your family to be conformed to Christ and a great way for your family to experience a refreshing transformation!

Merry Christmas!

Emily Cavins — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:22:55 +0000

Whether you have snow this year or not, may you have a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior with friends and family.

New Book on Parenting Teens

Emily Cavins — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:50:11 +0000

For those of you who are entering the teen phase of parenting, it’s a whole new world. Suddenly your great ideas are no longer so great in your teens eyes. Their brains are growing rapidly again and your job is to be consistent as possible and guide them in the way they should go as the book of Proverbs tells us. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. Sometimes there is a bit of waiting to see that your love and patience paid off! Kimberly Hahn, a dear friend of ours, recently wrote a book on biblical wisdom for parenting teens and young adults called Legacy of Love. This book could provide you with some encouragement and ideas for guiding your child through the teen phase of development.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Emily Cavins — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:47:27 +0000

Wishing you a wonderful time with your family for Thanksgiving! If you are looking for some family games to play during the upcoming Christmas break that will help you learn your Faith, check out this website for Catholic bingo games.

Learn the word “consubstantial”!

Emily Cavins — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:06:22 +0000

Is your family gearing up for the modified responses that you will need to learn for mass beginning this November? Here’s a handy link to responses you will be saying in less than a month! http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/samples-people.shtml

The changes don’t look too difficult, except perhaps in the wording of the Creed from “one in Being with the Father” to “consubstantial with the Father.” Be sure to learn that one before your kids come home and ask you what it means!

This change of wording can be a perfect opportunity to learn more about our Faith. We are so used to repeating our Creed without needing to think too hard about it. Now that we need to pause and think, let’s ponder the meaning and discuss it with friends and family. Let’s make our belief even deeper!